tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37059054240766147402024-03-05T13:50:02.530-05:00Genealogy on Found PhotosUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-40114289894475183242015-01-03T21:43:00.003-05:002015-01-03T21:43:35.639-05:00Anna Stebbins and Ellen Parker, part 2<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so we begin part 2 on Anna Stebbins and Ellen Parker!</span><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2Ys_IDMc6eFXQ00WT4Mnfg866o_lgCo3-YL-jDby3EqAEHp2OtluedtTDzJgD9Kj9JrCkpU-1gyUeFOZLha9Og9gb7mxTuQPaVLWawEiB2SbgcpdwTiOIVib7o51KTQQ41Eh0H97IX8/s1600/0103151810a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2Ys_IDMc6eFXQ00WT4Mnfg866o_lgCo3-YL-jDby3EqAEHp2OtluedtTDzJgD9Kj9JrCkpU-1gyUeFOZLha9Og9gb7mxTuQPaVLWawEiB2SbgcpdwTiOIVib7o51KTQQ41Eh0H97IX8/s1600/0103151810a.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ellen Parker, from the start, presented the greater challenge. There were no dates provided, no husband given, only the clues presented in the type of photo, her dress, her name, and the fact that she was at Camp Dix at some point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I learned through my research, Camp Dix (now Fort Dix) is near Trenton, New Jersey, and was built in 1917-1918. Trenton was certainly quite a ways from Chautauqua, New York. 389 miles according to google maps, or 6 hours and 18 minutes driving today. In the 1920s though this would have certainly taken much longer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Based on the photo, my best guess was that this was taken while on vacation. Since I knew none of Anna and Harvey's children were named Ellen, my first step was to check the 1930 census to see if there was an Ellen Parker in Chautauqua Co, NY. Perhaps she was a daughter-in-law. And if I came up empty-handed, maybe she was a cousin who had moved away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As luck would have it there <b>was</b> an Ellen Parker in the 1930 census in Chautauqua! Aged 41, she was married to a Bert Parker, also 41. Living with them was their son, William, aged 8.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Age-wise she seemed to fit. I had guessed the photo had been taken in the 1920s of a woman aged in her 40s or 50s. She would have turned 40 in 1929, which meant if this was a picture of her, it was probably taken in the 1930s sometime. But if it was her, how was she related to Anna?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I searched much longer than I care to admit to find out who this "Bert" was. At first I thought he was from Cattaraugus county initially, until I realized that Bert was Bert B. Parker, and this was Bert E. Parker. It wasn't until I took a second look at the historical writeup for Harvey Parker that I realized Bert was indeed the son of Harvey and Anna.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The age was another item that had thrown me off. In the 1900 census, their son Albert E. Parker was listed as aged 14. This would have made him older than Ellen's husband Bert who, based on his later attributed age, should have only been 11. Yet another lesson in not taking ages too exactly in census records.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1920 Bert and Ellen were living with her father, Frank Lundquist. He was an immigrant from Sweden as was his late wife. Like her husband Bert, Ellen had lost her mother by this time. Her mother Matilda had died in 1917 when Ellen was about 29. Matilda and Frank had immigrated to the US in 1880 and had 2 other children in addition to Ellen. They were Theodore and Carl.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ioJy1NFO037vECjGuezoXGoMmV8pi2POgvtp59I65tw180fBRKp3l6Yg238zeR_F7oPnzsUhcnDwhKpOQH95Of5uNhyphenhyphenPsBC14ucqNxW0tYLgbIv3NMkV3BUQ41rKusMejExCz8mSsCA/s1600/0103151810b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ioJy1NFO037vECjGuezoXGoMmV8pi2POgvtp59I65tw180fBRKp3l6Yg238zeR_F7oPnzsUhcnDwhKpOQH95Of5uNhyphenhyphenPsBC14ucqNxW0tYLgbIv3NMkV3BUQ41rKusMejExCz8mSsCA/s1600/0103151810b.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ellen died in 1966 at the age of 78. Her husband Bert died in 1980, at the age of 92! Their only child William died in 2010. There is a very nice <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=parker&GSfn=william&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=2010&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=57613779&df=all&" target="_blank">writeup</a> attached to his FindaGrave record if you are interested.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before putting this set of photographs to rest, I wanted to see if I could decipher the meaning of the wording on the back. In addition to "Camp Dix", there was also "Ephesians, 5-23", "Page 467", and "Can you beat it?". The last seems to be a challenge to someone to take a better photo in a more distant place! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the Ephesians reference, that passage is here,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am certainly no scholar of the bible so if anyone has any ideas as to why this particular passage was referenced, I would definitely be interested!</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-49232225548136371342015-01-03T20:42:00.006-05:002015-01-03T20:50:15.203-05:00Anna Stubbins and Ellen Parker, part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA74dE4aKr_UL4zyKDheliR9zKKwbtANUuScO0mzkl6SX6aZROd2diTg7TrUoPg3pcc2Le990WhjP9gw7Ktv7Zrk3cO67DNoSrYsl49AaFf0Klbpy_36YLDtxLVBnRc-3otNcEdmRfQN4/s1600/0103151810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA74dE4aKr_UL4zyKDheliR9zKKwbtANUuScO0mzkl6SX6aZROd2diTg7TrUoPg3pcc2Le990WhjP9gw7Ktv7Zrk3cO67DNoSrYsl49AaFf0Klbpy_36YLDtxLVBnRc-3otNcEdmRfQN4/s1600/0103151810.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2Ys_IDMc6eFXQ00WT4Mnfg866o_lgCo3-YL-jDby3EqAEHp2OtluedtTDzJgD9Kj9JrCkpU-1gyUeFOZLha9Og9gb7mxTuQPaVLWawEiB2SbgcpdwTiOIVib7o51KTQQ41Eh0H97IX8/s1600/0103151810a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2Ys_IDMc6eFXQ00WT4Mnfg866o_lgCo3-YL-jDby3EqAEHp2OtluedtTDzJgD9Kj9JrCkpU-1gyUeFOZLha9Og9gb7mxTuQPaVLWawEiB2SbgcpdwTiOIVib7o51KTQQ41Eh0H97IX8/s1600/0103151810a.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Writer's note: this ended up being a much longer article than I had anticipated. Please let me know whether it is too detailed, and I will adjust future posts accordingly.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This set of photos came to me in a slightly interesting manner. Most photos I pick up at auctions or antique stores. This one however was purchased for me by my parents after mentioning that I was interested in old picture frames. The frame that held these two photos was smaller than I had wanted, but it certainly provided me with a new family to explore!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgak61EgNAEM34Cd0dfetJAEo6qrhbAbkTaiCSIw1OSqikp4ON9Zu5AtSH4XS3TOpZnP5PBpwNimumCui_qLQNtq3LPqGiWAySxgfp0UB1b4h-9lsp4iFCFr4IPPh8bTRmePHSg794i0Zs/s1600/0103151811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgak61EgNAEM34Cd0dfetJAEo6qrhbAbkTaiCSIw1OSqikp4ON9Zu5AtSH4XS3TOpZnP5PBpwNimumCui_qLQNtq3LPqGiWAySxgfp0UB1b4h-9lsp4iFCFr4IPPh8bTRmePHSg794i0Zs/s1600/0103151811.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These photos were both tucked inside the same frame with names, and in the case of Anna Stebbins, her birth date, the name of her husband and marriage date, and her death date on the back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anna is in the photo in the top left, Ellen the top right. Ellen's photo was behind Anna's and is obviously newer.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ioJy1NFO037vECjGuezoXGoMmV8pi2POgvtp59I65tw180fBRKp3l6Yg238zeR_F7oPnzsUhcnDwhKpOQH95Of5uNhyphenhyphenPsBC14ucqNxW0tYLgbIv3NMkV3BUQ41rKusMejExCz8mSsCA/s1600/0103151810b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ioJy1NFO037vECjGuezoXGoMmV8pi2POgvtp59I65tw180fBRKp3l6Yg238zeR_F7oPnzsUhcnDwhKpOQH95Of5uNhyphenhyphenPsBC14ucqNxW0tYLgbIv3NMkV3BUQ41rKusMejExCz8mSsCA/s1600/0103151810b.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a> <span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, before any actual research was done, I studied the two photos. Anna Stebbins' photo appears to be a CDV, which was most popular between the 1850s and 1870s. Based on her marriage date and apparent age, my best guess is that this photo was probably taken for her wedding or near it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ellen Parker's photo on the other hand is a snapshot from a personal camera. You can even see the shadow of the person taking the picture. It's hard to tell whether the photographer was male or female based on just the shadow though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My initial impressions of Ellen was that she was probably in her 40s or 50s, and the photo was likely taken in the 1920s. Based on that, I felt it was possible she was Harvey W. Parker's second wife, sister, sister-in-law, or possibly daughter or daughter-in-law (though that seemed a bit less likely).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now to the research!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I started with Anna since the photo had already provided me with all the essential data. Parker is a common name but I thought, how many Anna Stebbins could there be! As it turned out, more than I thought. There was even one almost exactly the right age in the 1860 census in Michigan. I entertained the idea for a while that she could have been from Michigan, but moved past it. I knew my parents had not purchased the photo anywhere near Michigan so I decided to do what I don't always like to do. I checked the public tree database at Ancestry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, for anyone who has looked for people there, there are two absolutes,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(1) Pretty much anyone you search for pre-1880 will be there in at least name</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(2) Many trees are created by overusing the copy/paste function without proper verification</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the second point, I will admit I was guilty of this myself early on in my search. I remember spending many nights adding in "relatives" to my tree from other researchers trees, presuming they had done their due diligence. What a mess that created! In some ways I was lucky. I have very few colonial lines and most of the errors I had added were along those lines. Where I was not lucky though? Several of the large trees I had added through "download". I am not sure if Ancestry still allows this, but back in the day you could say "link to this person in my tree" and then it would ask if you wanted to download just ancestors/descendants/or both. In many cases I chose both. This has left me to the unpleasant task of weeding out these now unconnected descendants after deleting our "common" ancestors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I will generally trust any information post 1850. Not enough to add to my tree, but enough to contact the owner and/or use as a reference for my own research. Anything before that is highly suspect since this is where most of the errors lie. That is my long two cents on the public trees! Now back to Anna!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As it turned out from the public trees, I was correct. The Anna Stebbins from Michigan was in fact <b>not</b> the Anna Stebbins I had pictured. The real Anna Stebbins was the daughter of George W. Stebbins and his wife Jerusha. I had been unable to locate them in the 1860 census originally because Anna's name was incorrectly recorded as "Adda".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1860 her parents were both 32 years old. The family was living in Portland, Chautauqua Co, NY. George was a farmer, and his wife was a housekeeper. Anna was recorded as six months old and their only child. In actuality though, she would have been seven months and nearly eight. Born December 13th 1859, the census was recorded on the 10th of August 1860. I cannot explain this discrepancy but can only say that inaccuracies in age are not uncommon, especially in census records.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next up was the 1870 census. Now here is one instance where public trees are not correct on post-1850 data. Every tree I clicked on had both of Anna's parents dying in 1865. So I was anticipating I would find an orphaned girl living with a relative of one of her parents. Instead I found she was living with both parents who were still very much alive!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1870 the family was still living in Portland, her parents now 42, and her father George still a farmer. Anna was listed a 10 years old and she now had a younger brother John aged 8. All born in New York.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 1880 census was when I knew for a fact I had the right Anna Stebbins. In 1880, her parents George and Jerusha were now listed as living in Chautauqua, </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chautauqua</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Co, NY. Her brother John E. was 17 and still living at home. It was here that I learned that although both George and Jerusha were born in New York, George's parents were from Massachusetts, and Jerusha's were from Vermont (or at least her father was, her mother's place of birth was blank). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anna Stebbins Parker and her husband Harvey were also recorded in Chautauqua, Chautauqua Co, NY in 1880. Anna aged 20 and Harvey 25 were recorded 4 pages away from her parents, and were at the time living with Harvey's parents, William Parker aged 68 and his wife Sarah aged 63. Both were born in England. In addition, Harvey's older brother Edwin W. aged 31 and his wife Eva, aged 20, were living next door. And coincidentally or not, Harvey's other brother Ellis was living two doors down from Anna's parents with his own family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Skipping to the 1900 census, we can essentially seen Anna and Harvey's entire marriage. They are still living in Chautauqua, and on the surface very little appears to have changed except that they now have seven children living with them. Anna is recorded as having given birth to eight however, so we know one died young. Their children are Frederick age 19, Grace 16, Albert 14, Grant 12, Edna 9, George 4, and Ruth 2. All in all they appear to be living a very happy, stable life. Based on the photo though we know that is about to change shortly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1903, Anna dies leaving Harvey a widower. With their youngest child Ruth only 4, this must have been a terrible shock. Harvey never remarried after her death. He also outlived Anna by 47 years, dying in 1950. Throughout his life it appears his daughter Edna stayed with him, taking care of him and never marrying herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finally found an article on Harvey in the history of Chautauqua county, which I have posted below for anyone interested. Please excuse the sizing issues, I cannot figure out how to set them correctly at the moment!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since this is a long enough post already, Ellen Parker will have to wait for part 2!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-48800631169352675442015-01-03T19:17:00.001-05:002015-01-03T19:17:39.713-05:00Long Time No Post!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has been a long time since my last post. I'm hoping to change that though going forward. I will be posting a new entry soon, and my hope is to post a few times a month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also wanted to say, if anyone has any photos they'd like me to research or they've researched themselves, please feel free to message me with details and I would be happy to research them and/or add your self-written post to my blog!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All for now,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Katie</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-64983600736963179872012-09-13T20:17:00.001-04:002012-09-13T20:17:29.673-04:00Emma L. Pidgeon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgql7-1Jqgtp9HGcAntguAjHPX6FfdKtj1LYWdKW1waf0x0qK75RUkUH6zgvInVt1dcrmPzwVHIYz5PMog3ndUO-gnuxYpwucqQmQKVM7S6x18yv0gaX4NajAElYPmWMbcUTrBaKSMu-Jk/s1600/Cabinet+Cards_0164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgql7-1Jqgtp9HGcAntguAjHPX6FfdKtj1LYWdKW1waf0x0qK75RUkUH6zgvInVt1dcrmPzwVHIYz5PMog3ndUO-gnuxYpwucqQmQKVM7S6x18yv0gaX4NajAElYPmWMbcUTrBaKSMu-Jk/s400/Cabinet+Cards_0164.jpg" width="262" /></a></div>
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This is little Emma L. Pidgeon. Researching her and her family has been one heartbreaking revelation after another.<br />
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First, some background. Although the photo was taken in
Philadelphia, “Pennsgrove” was written on the back along with her name. After searching a bit on Ancestry.com, I
found Emma was the daughter of William Atkinson Pidgeon, a salesman, and
Margaret (Maggie) S. Flanigan, a dressmaker.
She was born the 2<sup>nd</sup> of November 1892. Born the third of three children, she had an
older sister Grace, born in 1889, and an older brother Henry (Harry) Flanigan
Pidgeon born in 1890. The next step was
to check the 1900 census and follow the lives of this family to see what
happened to them. Unfortunately, this census provided some startling results. I sadly discovered that by 1900 both Grace and Emma were deceased, and only Harry was
still living. This was a terrible sign of the
times where it wasn’t uncommon to lose one or more children early on. As the CDC points out, in some cities in
1900, up to 30% of infants would die before their first birthday, an
unfathomable thing in today’s world of healthcare.<br />
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I still do not know exactly what
age Emma died, or what caused her death, but it’s likely she died prior to age
5 and from an illness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since I learned, conclusively and sadly, that Emma does not have any descendants, I decided to continue to research her parents and her brother Harry. That's when I came upon my next startling revelation. It turns out that William A. Pidgeon died in 1908, at the age of 41. Without an online obituary, I was unable to
determine what happened to him, but it is reasonable to deduce his death caused
great hardship, both financial and emotional, for his wife and only remaining child,
Harry.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In 1910 Margaret & Harry were still living in Pennsgrove, NJ. Harry, at 19, was a clerk for the railroad office. His mother Margaret was still a dressmaker working on her own account.</div>
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On June 5th, 1917, Harry registered for WWI duty. He was married at the time, and was now a Railroad Master. Some details from the registration form give a bit of a picture of him. He was stout, of medium height, with light hair and blue eyes. If Harry did see action in the war, he had returned home safely by 1920. He and his wife Priscilla (3 years older than him) were living with an aunt and several others.</div>
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Harry's mother Margaret died in March 1930, at the age of 61. At that time, Harry & his wife Priscilla were still childless, he at 39, her at 42. Harry still worked for the railroad, and at the time they were still living in Camden, NJ. I was unable to find Harry & Priscilla in the 1940 census, but given their ages in 1930, it seems doubtful they had children. This left me with the sad realization that there wasn't any close family who would want Emma's photo. Still, I decided to press on and try to find out what happened to Harry and Priscilla. At the very least I felt I owed them that. Unfortunately that wasn't as easy a proposition as I intially hoped.</div>
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Harry was found in the WWII registration files, and still living in New Jersey. Given his age, however, it's highly unlikely he served as he would have been in his 50s at the time.</div>
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After this, I was left with very little to go on. From social security records, I find Priscilla Pidgeon died on the 29th of September 1974 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Harry appears to have died in the intervening years prior to this.</div>
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And this led me to a dead end. I wish I could give you a happy ending here. Unfortunately, I have yet another family-less photo. I do still hold out some remaining hope, though, that some distant relative of Emma's will see her and want to honor her memory.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-33234615319336194022012-09-02T21:36:00.000-04:002012-09-02T21:36:03.964-04:00A Small Smattering of Unknown PhotographsThanks to everyone checking out my blog! I really appreciate all the nice comments! I will be posting a new researched photo soon, but to tide you over, I thought I'd post a small selection of my favorite unknowns. :)<br />
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First, I must admit, I don't tend to hold on to these photographs since it's almost impossible to identify the family from which it originated. So, while I do still have some of these in my possession, others have been acquired by collectors. This is an acceptable compromise for me as I feel they will take good care of these pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTywUFhJ-UYO9vAxcBILZlZPmt1Z6CJH-RmbsBBs0fYsu6OOFYg4hlRTBXqlICVw-0NXeZ5IxfH19fQC93Vc9TI26uVV6vuSmQn4zVNbAqZxbXnYoZujIYm2cSGuMgvvLoLUDMzrafwk/s1600/TintypesLot_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQTywUFhJ-UYO9vAxcBILZlZPmt1Z6CJH-RmbsBBs0fYsu6OOFYg4hlRTBXqlICVw-0NXeZ5IxfH19fQC93Vc9TI26uVV6vuSmQn4zVNbAqZxbXnYoZujIYm2cSGuMgvvLoLUDMzrafwk/s400/TintypesLot_0001.jpg" width="263" /></a><br />
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The first photo I love is a nice tintype of two girls, a dog, and a tiny puppy. It's rather rare to see animals in photographs of this age (to this day I think this is the only one I've come across) which is a big part of the reason I find it so great. <br />
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Presumably the two girls are sisters, but who knows for sure! It's photos like this though that make me realize that in a lot of ways, things really aren't so different now than they were back then.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOpun8ugoUhIjU9qpCL9aFKa0dG0uaAKH54XCacr0usSgeyaB5pzdRP784ZSzI4fmz5A3G6yKtJmcYqwL_JbopHuPPZoT2f4cRMVNKc-gRHq5InihJ4bd9afbXN4eVcjP5p0B3H0lAbM/s1600/Group1_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAOpun8ugoUhIjU9qpCL9aFKa0dG0uaAKH54XCacr0usSgeyaB5pzdRP784ZSzI4fmz5A3G6yKtJmcYqwL_JbopHuPPZoT2f4cRMVNKc-gRHq5InihJ4bd9afbXN4eVcjP5p0B3H0lAbM/s400/Group1_0007.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
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Here's what I like to call a "personality" photo. Let's face it, most photographs of the time are rather plain portraits of a person, with little to no smile, partly because they had to sit forever to get their photo taken.<br />
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This photo however (also a tintype), is of an obviously flirty woman. Perhaps this photo was sent to a husband/boyfriend/fiance? Or perhaps she just wanted this photo for herself! I wish I knew the background behind this image, as I'm certain she has an extremely interesting story to tell.<br />
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And this last photo just looks like fun! :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOih4-N1KdSHgQuA2RWfSN1t_Y8a4DqwCCgP0UxEi9rzT1BM1he52ZlogR-QydcThYO6P7vIDfg9Ou7tU-YhAHK74Y1RWlerkr7XdEAKHPVmcU5Rzzgfkf9iMH6I7mvE3AUAGSR9Qm2Mk/s1600/IMG_0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="515" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOih4-N1KdSHgQuA2RWfSN1t_Y8a4DqwCCgP0UxEi9rzT1BM1he52ZlogR-QydcThYO6P7vIDfg9Ou7tU-YhAHK74Y1RWlerkr7XdEAKHPVmcU5Rzzgfkf9iMH6I7mvE3AUAGSR9Qm2Mk/s640/IMG_0046.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-2032456798249470752012-08-30T13:37:00.000-04:002012-08-30T13:37:26.877-04:00Unknown photosAlthough some of the photos I've found have been lucky enough to have names attched, many do not. I'd be willing to estimate less than 5% of photos have their subjects identified. Because of that rather startling statistic, I have decided to dedicate several pages to these unknown photos. There will be links on the side to view these. Hopefully someone will recognize one of them. They will be arranged by state, wherever possible, and possibly by city.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-63562790067484603372012-08-28T20:23:00.003-04:002012-08-28T20:24:05.020-04:00The Loftin Family of Atlanta, Georgia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbW04prdO8OK9ntHAFznRgoe4aPaxyc1Zc0MkK_byuVn90dpPS3Rxi2jEu4ch8virBJcYpvgSVwzfm-997ah6NfDDPe8ZkWlD7HVku0jFdV8xYPC6LzT4MWoAe0i078k_PTpuyQ0llmeQ/s1600/Lot12_0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbW04prdO8OK9ntHAFznRgoe4aPaxyc1Zc0MkK_byuVn90dpPS3Rxi2jEu4ch8virBJcYpvgSVwzfm-997ah6NfDDPe8ZkWlD7HVku0jFdV8xYPC6LzT4MWoAe0i078k_PTpuyQ0llmeQ/s320/Lot12_0010.jpg" width="190" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8OnfKEv-AcaCA1oRNuZThDBQ3uMZO7wetJ5b3h7-qrT3lOWjEINp6GP0SATnuUAktS002TY5dsTvvpEFhRG-Mw3-JOwq_9MINaRhT53B9P7yAvEWA7oaykCz7SeAI0nWxCBnNj8v25g/s1600/Lot12_0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8OnfKEv-AcaCA1oRNuZThDBQ3uMZO7wetJ5b3h7-qrT3lOWjEINp6GP0SATnuUAktS002TY5dsTvvpEFhRG-Mw3-JOwq_9MINaRhT53B9P7yAvEWA7oaykCz7SeAI0nWxCBnNj8v25g/s320/Lot12_0008.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;">These are without a doubt some of my favorite photos I've
ever come across. Colorized carte-de-visites (or CDVs) and some with
names attached. I just knew I HAD to find out who "Our<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Little Carrie Belle" was.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60SvrD9jNmNmJldxio2N_TDrNOlCLI8lRYCeJK6YwkCbRAwulxF8cASdyLNOTCVIqwO96kePP-bSyGoEqIRvB4hjOMQgUGWWqBPiPSbC9jeDV6AHL2ODtswr0u-Zzhd86fNFwFVwlqNM/s1600/Lot12_0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh60SvrD9jNmNmJldxio2N_TDrNOlCLI8lRYCeJK6YwkCbRAwulxF8cASdyLNOTCVIqwO96kePP-bSyGoEqIRvB4hjOMQgUGWWqBPiPSbC9jeDV6AHL2ODtswr0u-Zzhd86fNFwFVwlqNM/s320/Lot12_0006.jpg" width="200" /></a>First, a bit more about the photos. For those who aren't photo-geeks, CDVs are roughly 2 1/2 inches by 4 inches in size, and were the popular photo format from about the mid 1850s to the 1870s, when the larger cabinet cards became the more popular option. Although not foolproof, I've found this is a good way to get a rough idea of when a photo was taken. Now back to the photos at hand.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQNHjncHYc0q0bz6y7oxvN_f0vFji1Le9wiK9m2uvpCJXWixKl7SYpnQSJDrhW6hocrgTe57YmlOJ9NEVbR1vVdAjAPLn78mr880hAnCJ9HS_8BwailcSqFH751NuDm1iqecgeaTAMlU/s1600/Lot12_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQNHjncHYc0q0bz6y7oxvN_f0vFji1Le9wiK9m2uvpCJXWixKl7SYpnQSJDrhW6hocrgTe57YmlOJ9NEVbR1vVdAjAPLn78mr880hAnCJ9HS_8BwailcSqFH751NuDm1iqecgeaTAMlU/s320/Lot12_0009.jpg" width="199" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72d_Gu8bmVqp95phxJU-JeR1KrO76fAnZRbRoH4cb8wqlyq3ss_-PEu6x0efEubG5v05UFd15g2XTwuhrucxc9OmTjpY17iFrFjQU5AbIgPqnTfWt_SeOf9MgQTi3mG9ANmFSQtq77CM/s1600/Lot12_0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72d_Gu8bmVqp95phxJU-JeR1KrO76fAnZRbRoH4cb8wqlyq3ss_-PEu6x0efEubG5v05UFd15g2XTwuhrucxc9OmTjpY17iFrFjQU5AbIgPqnTfWt_SeOf9MgQTi3mG9ANmFSQtq77CM/s320/Lot12_0007.jpg" width="191" /></a>To start with, I had two captions to work with. The first, "Our Little Carrie Belle", and the second, "Mrs. F. M. Loftin". And although the rest of the photos did not have names attached, I knew they were all likely part of the same family because they were all taken at the G. J. Gables Gallery in Augusta, Georgia. Some were older than others to be sure, but they all appeared to be from the same family. To Ancestry I went!</div>
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Luckily for me, the 1870 census recorded a 3 year-old "Carrie Bell Lofton" in Atlanta, Georgia, living with her father, F. M. Lofton age 27, her mother Carrie Bell (Oakman) Lofton age 20, and her younger brother Frank Lofton age 1. Her father "F. M." as it turns out, was also named Francis. So as it turns out, both children were named after their parents.</div>
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I had to wonder what the elder Carrie Belle Loftin & Francis M. Loftin's lives were like. Their daughter Carrie Belle was born in 1867, just two years after the end of the Civil War, and 3 years after the burning of Atlanta. I could not find anything to show if Francis had served in the war, but even if he didn't, it assuredly was a daily thought.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMvXItX_vzuzQzfQ3xvSxUiVlwzzBMERuXfieyfIBVqpH6R_d-pDnGXb5IiBDyRP2755bTiaKPb-KQGT074E7ZbzLuPbFth2wo94IC5IVhteHlsZ3l1rlFI6qGzfv0q4cQiIksMke1YU/s1600/Lot12_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMvXItX_vzuzQzfQ3xvSxUiVlwzzBMERuXfieyfIBVqpH6R_d-pDnGXb5IiBDyRP2755bTiaKPb-KQGT074E7ZbzLuPbFth2wo94IC5IVhteHlsZ3l1rlFI6qGzfv0q4cQiIksMke1YU/s320/Lot12_0003.jpg" width="194" /></a>Sadly, I found that Francis Loftin died young in 1873, leaving his wife and 3 children. I then searched the 1880 census wondering what happened to Carrie and her children? I was in for a shocker! As it turned out, Carrie Belle Oakman Loftin would marry the photographer G. J. Gables in about 1875. The same man who had taken the photo of her daughter as a baby. They would eventually have two children together.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-HWCo62TO0JrgBDCyp8uI1RjxwoCFaodmu3JI1E3kmAQvJ3Ddb-5DQqBx7wzligcar8hEtKlcRKsLG1JvteUxGg-dAHHWZVYhHsI_BDGW4NBYrIRpK2UyclCvyUOw5h2OpEX6OfwGTc/s1600/Lot12_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-HWCo62TO0JrgBDCyp8uI1RjxwoCFaodmu3JI1E3kmAQvJ3Ddb-5DQqBx7wzligcar8hEtKlcRKsLG1JvteUxGg-dAHHWZVYhHsI_BDGW4NBYrIRpK2UyclCvyUOw5h2OpEX6OfwGTc/s320/Lot12_0004.jpg" width="193" /></a><br />
Her marriage to Mr. Gables would not be her last, however, as she would outlive him as well. Carrie would marry her final husband, William Lomas in 1903, whom she would also outlive.<br />
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The younger Carrie Belle Loftin, as it turned out, married a man named David Patman Daniell and had many children. Her mother, Carrie Belle Oakman Loftin Gables Lomas (talk about a lot of names!), died in 1921 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Now I know how these photos likely started their journey to me some 80 years later!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0Fnu7T0nIrA1_tzHbeVwG5k93_ltk-wJt_3Nkt-jfM9Hxsi-f2Fea_dC47ezi4LXiVq7W75um27N27LELVy6e3lt3-pJTY2VbOCYFSyvA2aE6tIq_VEaRXFjDYWRLAUDe6S1VQwk1cE/s1600/Lot12_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX0Fnu7T0nIrA1_tzHbeVwG5k93_ltk-wJt_3Nkt-jfM9Hxsi-f2Fea_dC47ezi4LXiVq7W75um27N27LELVy6e3lt3-pJTY2VbOCYFSyvA2aE6tIq_VEaRXFjDYWRLAUDe6S1VQwk1cE/s320/Lot12_0005.jpg" width="196" /></a><br />
Although I can't identify most of these people exactly, I believe the man is probably Francis Loftin himself as the green chair he's leaning on appears to be the same one his wife is standing next to in one of the photos above. It's possible they were taken at the same time, perhaps for their wedding.<br />
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If George J. Gables was the photo colorist, he was an excellent one. Whoever did the careful work paid extreme care and attention to even the smallest details, and they really do bring the subjects to life.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-81364457165494720002012-08-26T22:18:00.001-04:002012-08-27T10:58:00.458-04:00With a Name Like Mayo Lambie...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMbNPnabvAxqpZtw6isrFnswm7hUgF-23rFWTcseBTmP0oh5vsH0kxYUOWwr2fsuVUiJu4sDI30rgoBsFfj1YXBPfU8QLuDXz7RsCjypIt1X_rgwNJVJHwQV3uBfJF23_OCQi4sTuNSs/s1600/Cabinet+Cards_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMbNPnabvAxqpZtw6isrFnswm7hUgF-23rFWTcseBTmP0oh5vsH0kxYUOWwr2fsuVUiJu4sDI30rgoBsFfj1YXBPfU8QLuDXz7RsCjypIt1X_rgwNJVJHwQV3uBfJF23_OCQi4sTuNSs/s320/Cabinet+Cards_0001.jpg" width="170" /></a></div>
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This next photo was taken in St. Johns, Michigan, a small town about 25 miles north of Lansing, Michigan, near the center of the state. I'm always surprised when I find a photo that originated outside of the area where I live. I guess I should state, I live in the DC area, and for one reason or another, most of the photos I come across tend to be taken in or near Philadelphia. Photos like this, however, make you wonder what track it took to get to you? Was it sent to a distant relative? Did the family move after the photo was taken? Were they perhaps on vacation when the photo was taken, and the fact it was taken in Michigan means little?<br />
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In this case the photo became even more interesting when I turned it over. The name written on the back read, "Mayo Lambie, adopted by Gabriel A." Since neither Mayo nor Lambie are common first or last names, I initially questioned whether I was reading it correctly. Was it perhaps "May" or "Mary", or was the name possibly a nickname of some sort? Since I had nothing else to go on, I went to Ancestry.com, and decided to see if anything would pop up. Luckily for me Mayo Lambie was indeed this little girl's name and she did live in Michigan.<br />
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According to baptismal records, she was born, May 15, 1888 to Nellie and Alexander Lambie in Essex, Michigan. This made me stop in my tracks. You see, in the 1900 census, Mayo Lambie was living with Alexander Lambie, age 44, a dealer in clothing, and his wife Libbie, age 41, along with Libbie's father Charles Olcott. Mayo is not listed as adopted and her mother is listed as having 1 child and 1 child living. Because Mayo Lambie is not a common name, I knew I had the right one, I just didn't know why the photo inscription insisted she was adopted by a Gabriel A.<br />
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The 1910 census solved many of my questions, however. Again, Mayo is living with Alexander, Libbie, and this time Alexander's father John Lambie. This time, though, Libbie is listed as having 0 children and 0 living, and while Libbie was born in New York, Mayo's listed as both parents born in Michigan. This seemed to seal the fact that she was adopted and it was not kept a secret. The only question left was who was Gabriel A? Although I have no proof, it is my belief that Alexander's name was really Gabriel Alexander.<br />
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My next object was to see what happened to Mayo?<br />
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Checking the 1920 census, I found out Mayo had married a man named Thomas Townsend, a retail merchant at a clothing store. Given that her father also worked in clothing, it seems likely he either introduced them or he secured Thomas a job after they married. In 1920 they were both 31, but they had no children.<br />
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When I clicked on the 1930 census, I held my breath, hoping against hope to find Mayo and Thomas had a child, otherwise I would strike out finding descendants again. As luck would have it, there was a 6 year old boy named Richard Townsend living with them. Taking a slightly closer look I realized something else interesting. Just like his mother Mayo, Richard was adopted! I don't know what the odds are to find several adoptions in a family line, but I admit, this one made me smile.<br />
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In 1940, Thomas, Mayo, and Richard had moved to St. Petersburg, Florida and Thomas was now a painter for a construction company. Although I can only speculate what brought them to Florida, my guess was economics. In 1930, Thomas was unemployed.<br />
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With the ending of the available census records, however, I've hit a roadblock finding out more. Did Richard marry? Did he have kids? I was able to find out that Mayo Lambie Townsend died in St. Petersburg, Florida, March 2nd, 1983 at the age of 94. Surprisingly, I wasn't able to find the death of her husband, Thomas B. Townsend. It doesn't seem likely he's still alive and kicking at 124, however.<br />
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As for Richard, from World War II records, I know he enlisted in the army in 1943 in Florida. After that I don't find him again until his death is recorded in the Social Security death index. Although I don't have absolute proof, I do believe Richard passed away the 15th of May, 1990 in Pittsburgh, PA. Based on the locality, this is perhaps how I ended up with Mayo Lambie's photograph. <br />
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At this point, on the ground research is needed to solve this riddle. This is one I intend to solve, and will update you on any breakthroughs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-36922808813229344092012-08-26T11:21:00.003-04:002012-08-26T11:21:39.566-04:00Buelah Kendrick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshAdBJ3CpL2wBdJpYJWqtdnojAfbSlXmbNeh7XqU3BSXAUhSGuLbufuQVXE0_JdiiUu6WOBkGw7V-XbQdrcL9Qfx-U7OWaCgSoTNUJyqIntldbWpVVEcHtDsdERJlr2-3xZx5MqCBiIA/s1600/Cabinet+Cards_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshAdBJ3CpL2wBdJpYJWqtdnojAfbSlXmbNeh7XqU3BSXAUhSGuLbufuQVXE0_JdiiUu6WOBkGw7V-XbQdrcL9Qfx-U7OWaCgSoTNUJyqIntldbWpVVEcHtDsdERJlr2-3xZx5MqCBiIA/s320/Cabinet+Cards_0009.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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To start off this blog, I decided to start with the photo I have thus far put the most effort into identifying. Given her rather unique name of Buelah Kendrick, and knowing that she was 4 months old when this photo was taken in Washington D.C., I figured I had a reasonable chance of finding out exactly who she was, and contacting a relative. Well, as it turned out I was right and I was wrong.<br />
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Buelah Kendrick was born about 1899 to Grant S. and Katie Coppersmith Kendrick. She was their only child. She was married before the 1920 census, when she was 21, to a slightly older (at 30) Adelbert Charles Eastburn. In the 1920 census, Buelah and Adelbert were living with her parents, as well as her grandfather, William Coppersmith, and a great-aunt, Harriet Bogue/Bogne. Buelah's family were longtime residents of the Virginia/DC/Maryland area, so perhaps the fact that her husband Adelbert was born in New York made him that much more interesting to her.<br />
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Buelah and
Adelbert lived fairly long, presumably comfortable lives.
Adelbert was a native of Yonkers, NY. He went to Brown University, where he obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering, a relative rarity as a college graduate in his day. After graduation, he joined the Reserve Army, where he served as an officer in both World War I and World War II. In World War I, he was a researcher for early military searchlights. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.<br />
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Despite their long, and presumably happy relationship, Buelah and
Adelbert never had children. Buelah died January 4, 1982 and was interred in Arlington Cemetery.
Adelbert followed soon after on October 21, 1982.<br />
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This left me with a conundrum on my hands. Here I had an identified photo, but she unfortunately had no descendants. Additionally she didn't have any siblings, leaving her without nieces or nephews. I decided to then focus on
Adelbert's family, to see if perhaps he had any siblings whose children or grandchildren might want to keep Buelah's photo.<br />
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Adelbert Charles Eastburn was born to Charles Adelbert and Catherine Eastburn, the second of two children. He had an older sister, Anna. Hoping that Anna had descendants, I decided to see what I could find out about her. It was then that I learned Anna never married. I struck out again. There were no nieces or nephews on either side of the family who might want to keep Buelah's name alive. I'll be honest, this was a sad moment for me.<br />
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The final thing I discovered, was that Adelbert and Buelah left a large sum of money to Brown University, where they established the Adelbert C. Eastburn college scholarship.<br />
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<a href="http://brown.edu/academics/medical/financial-aid/scholarships/ams-scholarships">http://brown.edu/academics/medical/financial-aid/scholarships/ams-scholarships</a><br />
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Perhaps because Beulah's was the first photo I decided to put time and effort into researching, I admit I have become quite attached to her. So, until I find someone who might treasure Buelah's photo as a welcome keepsake, she will always have a special place on my mantle.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705905424076614740.post-31819997477870745922012-08-26T00:48:00.003-04:002012-08-26T00:48:57.120-04:00Hello!A while back, I went to an auction, looking to purchase a few things cheap and then resell them. Sort of a hobby of mine. Well, this time turned out differently than any other. I arrived and found a box of old orphan photographs. Several boxes in fact. I immediately felt an overwhelming sadness come over me. I suppose this is a good time to say, that I've been a genealogist for most of my life. Not for pay, but for fun. And staring down at those faces just made me want to cry, because almost certainly there was at least one that a researcher out there would love to have, if only there was a name attached.<br />
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I am not ashamed to admit, I felt very protective over these photographs. So much so, that I ended up purchasing them and nothing else. Going home that night, I admit I felt slightly foolish, being so attached to photos of people I had no knowledge of and probably never would.<br />
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Since then I've purchased other lots of photographs, and I now specifically seek them out when on the rare occasion I attend an auction. Most of these have simply been scanned into my computer, one more face to add to the database. Likely to never be identified.<br />
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A few lucky photos, however, have given me hope that they may be reunited with someone who will cherish them. A few were lucky enough to have names attached. I will sporadically be updating this blog with a new photo, a new name, and my attempts at finding out which "John Smith" they are. Perhaps, with luck, they will find their rightful family.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2